Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent changes in the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation on (a) capacity building, (b) technical assistance, (c) development projects and (d) the implications for UK-funded initiatives.

The UK is deeply committed to the Commonwealth. We are the largest donor to Commonwealth inter-governmental organisations and their programmes, including the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (CFTC). We believe the Commonwealth's institutions can deliver even more tangible benefits to its members and have encouraged them to focus on those areas where they can add most value. We therefore support reform of the Commonwealth Secretariat to help place the organisation on a more sustainable financial footing.